It is Southampton taxpayers, however, who have had to foot the bill. Although the £15m museum received a grant of £4.9m from the Heritage Lottery Fund, Southampton City Council paid the remaining £11.1m to get the museum built.

The museum also continues to cost the taxpayer money, with the local authority paying over £700,000 since its opening.

While there are valid cases for taxpayer support of the arts and cultural activities, it is clear that this has been a taxpayer funded failure, which doesn’t look likely to turn around any time soon.